A Warrior's Luck
by MT Yami
Summary: This is probably the worst story I've ever written. It's sort of like a Puerto Rican Princess Mononoke, and I wrote it because it was assigned for spanish class. Don't ask...


Disclaimer: I don't own Ashitaka, but I love him! ^_^-

Author's Note: This is possibly the stupidest story I have ever written. It was an assignment for Spanish class, and it turned out to be a Puerto Rican Princess Mononoke, sort of.

A Warrior's Luck

by Eternal Moonbeam

He could never live without it. It was his comfort, his treasure. It was his good luck charm.

Fourteen-year-old Ashitaka Zambrano glanced at the crystal dagger he held in his hand. It was all he had left of his family. He had been born in Japan, but his heart and his heritage was pure Puerto Rican. His parents were killed when he was little, and his older sister had brought him up. Now she felt that it was time for Ashitaka to go back to Puerto Rico to learn more about his foggy past.

The boat ride had been long and extremely boring. But he got there safely, thanks to his crystal dagger. 

Ashitaka ambled slowly through the marketplace next to the docks. Where would he start his little quest? He ran a hand through his scruffy dark brown hair. 

**This is just great, **he thought. He sat down on a sidewalk.

Something passed by his face and he raised his eyes to meet it. It was a girl, with big, chocolate-colored almond eyes.

"Hi!" the girl piped. "I'm Loren. What's your name?"

"Ashitaka," Ashitaka replied.

"That doesn't sound like a name from around here. Where ya from?" Loren looked at Ashitaka. He guessed she was about twelve years old.

"I'm from Japan," Ashitaka replied.

"Funny. You don't look like one of those cheesy tourists from Japan," Loren sniffled. "It's getting dusty around this time. Why don't you come to my house and we'll talk." Loren looked so innocent, Ashitaka couldn't refuse. Loren grabbed his hand and led him to her house.

Ashitaka entered the small house, and immediately, smells wafted into his nostrils. **Yum, I smell food, **he thought happily.

"My mama's cooking tortillas. You want some?" Loren asked him. Ashitaka nodded. "So, why ya here?"

"My mother and father were Christina and Miguel Zambrano. They moved to Japan with my older sister when my mother was pregnant. I guess since we were living in Japan they thought it best for them to learn the lingo and give me a Japanese name. They named me Ashitaka, their favorite Japanese name which basically means, 'is there a tomorrow?' It turned out there wasn't much of a future for them, because two years after I was born, my parents were killed in a neo samurai raid," Ashitaka stopped to regain his composure. Loren looked at him sympathetically. "Anyway, my sister Marianna raised me, and she told me when I was fourteen she would send me back to Puerto Rico to see if I could find any of my relatives."

Loren nodded, halfway into a tortilla. "Mmmf, ooh, sad story." Loren stuffed the rest of the tortilla in her mouth and swallowed. "There's an old warrior up in the mountains whose last name is Zambrano. He still thinks of himself as a tribal warrior, and doesn't really care much for the modern stuff like the rest of us. I think his name is Antonio Zambrano."

"Thank you. So, he lives up in the mountains?" Ashitaka looked towards the huge mountains. 

"Yeah. I'll lend you my mount to get up there," Loren offered. 

"Could you?"

"Sure. Just be nice to him. He doesn't take to strangers," Loren led Ashitaka out to the stables. She took a fast-looking chestnut horse from a stall.

The horse snorted as Ashitaka patted his nose. Then, the horse stepped back and bowed low. Ashitaka laughed and did the same.

"I think Pedrito likes you," Loren laughed. "I warn you though. The forests in the mountains are untamed, and primeval. The animals are giants, and are vicious, so the legends say. Be careful. I wish you good luck, sir."

"Thank you for your gracious help, young miss," Ashitaka smiled and kissed Loren lightly on the cheek. He swung himself up on Pedrito and galloped off. 

Pedrito turned out to be a swift and agile mount. He easily leapt up the base rocks of the mountains, and got them well into the forests of the mountain. Ashitaka leaned over the sweating horse's neck as he bounded through the forest at lightning speed.

They were almost at their destination when a protruding branch knocked Ashitaka off Pedrito's back. Ashitaka fell back onto the damp jungle ground, unhurt. He thanked his crystal dagger for that. Pedrito stopped a few feet away and pranced uneasily. The smell of predators filled Ashitaka's nostrils like a horrid stench. A flash of gold and brown could be seen through the foliage.

Ashitaka immediately got up, sensing danger. He touched the katana at his side, trusting his blade. He did not believe in killing with guns. Ashitaka whipped around, and saw a huge jaguar heading for him. He whistled to Pedrito, and the gallant horse galloped away to escape the jaguar. 

Ashitaka assumed this animal deserved respect before he killed it, so he spoke in a loud, firm voice. "Oh great Jaguar creature of the Forest, spare my life and my steed's. I do not wish to kill you!"

The jaguar's voice floated into his head. Foolish human. No human stalks into my forest without permission! It is my duty to kill you. 

"I have no choice but to fight for my life!" Ashitaka shouted, and drew his katana. He rushed the creature, hoping to impale it and end its life quickly.

The jaguar roared and twisted in hatred, dodging the blade and slashing below Ashitaka's left eye, leaving a horrid scar. Ashitaka, blood dripping down his face, slashed at the cat, delivering a harsh blow to the animal's soft underbelly. 

The jaguar, weakened by the blow, raked its claws across Ashitaka's right arm, tearing cloth and flesh as a sign of final defiance. Ashitaka, clutching his arm, swung the sword, but the cat knocked it away.

Ashitaka panicked as the cat, smirking, kicked it out of his reach. Fingering his lucky charm, Ashitaka yanked it off his necklace and charged with it. The jaguar was caught totally off guard. In a blind rage, Ashitaka drove his crystal dagger into the jaguar's throat. Its life was ended.

Bloody and sweaty, Ashitaka whistled for Pedrito. The steed never came. Slumping down, he passed out on the bloody jungle floor.

When he came to, he was in a darkened hut. He called out groggily, and a middle-aged man came to his side.

"So, you're awake," he said gruffly. "I'm Antonio. I saw your steed outside, and well, a rider-less horse usually means something. That was an impressive kill."

"I did not want to kill," Ashitaka said sadly. "He was a magnificent animal."

"I got your dagger. It's pretty. It reminds me of the one I gave my son," Antonio held out the crystal dagger, cleansed of blood. "What is your name?" 

"I am Ashitaka Zambrano, sir."


End file.
